Apparatus for flaring metal tubes



Dec. 5, 1961 H. ca. HENRICKSON APPARATUS FOR FLARING METAL TUBES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 4, 1955 mm \W 5 mm Dec. '5, 1961 H. G. HENRICKSON APPARATUS FOR FLARING METAL TUBES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 GHezzrzb/m Filed y 1955 United States Patent APPARATUS FOR FLARING METAL TUBES Henry G. Henrickson, Des Plaines, Ill., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Gateway Erectors, Inc., Chicago, I

The present invention relates to an improved apparatus for flaring the ends of thin wall metal tubes so as to provide such tubes with outwardly flared flanges in which the metal of the flange is displaced to form a sharp angle at the junction of the flange and the inner surface of the tube.

The invention has been designed primarily for use in connection with the shaping of the ends of thin wall conduit sections such as are employed'in surface pipe lines for transporting oil, water, gas, or other fluids, such sections usually being formed of aluminum or light stainless steel and being coupled together by coupling means which will permit a slight misalignment between adjacent sections'so that the conduit as a whole may follow the gradual undulations of the surface terrain. The invention is, however, useful in connection with the shaping of tubes or conduit sections which are used in many other situations and'suitable modification'of the invention may be resorted to if necessary to adapt the same to the shaping of tubes of different gauge and diameter without departing from the spirit of the invention.

According to the present invention, the apparatus herein disclosed will operate upon the ends of tubes, by a rolling or spinning operation, so that the ends of the tubes are flared outwardly while at the same time actually displacing a portion of the metal of the outwardly flared portion and forcing the displaced metal into the region of the junction of the outwardly flared portion With the inner surface of the tube.

Another and important object of the invention is to provide a tube flaring apparatus of this character which, although operable entirely by manual force, is extremely positive in its operation and in which the application of a moderate amount of such force is translated into a properly applied powerful shaping stress suflicient' to attain the desired cold flow of the metalduring the flaring operation.

" Still another object is to provide such apparatus which is portable and capable of being readily set up in the field i at the scene of operations and which, when set up, may be manipulated rapidly and with facility to bring the operative tube flaring parts into close juxtaposition with each tube while the latter is held firmly in a clamping element of the apparatus.

The provision of a tube flaring apparatus which is extremely rugged and durable and which may be put to hard usage while at the same time possess long life; one which is comprised of a minimum number of simplified parts unlikely to get out of order; and one which otherwise is well adapted to perform the services required of it, are further desirable features that have been borne in mind in the production and development of the present invention. I

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming apart of this specification a preferred embodiment of the apparatus is shown by way'of illustration.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken substantially centrally and longitudinally through a portable tube flaring apparatus in accordance with the principles of the present invention; 7 7

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the structure shown in FIG. 1 showing parts thereof in position assumedpreliminary to the actual flaring operations;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view' taken substantially along line 3-6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of FIG. 1; l

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken radial-1y through a portion of a tube end which. has been formed by the mechanism; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view'taken substantially along the line 7-7 of \FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 3, the tube holding and flaring mechanism of the present invention involves in its general organization a tube clamping anvil assembly 10'and a combined tube flaring and gripping assembly 111 which is separable from the anvil assembly but which is capable of cooperation therewith to first firmly grip the internal surface of the tube so that the flaring instrumentalities of the assembly may be brought into engagement with the end of the tube and, by a rolling operation, caused to shape the end of the tube to the desired configuration against the anvil proper.

In FIG. 6 there is shown one end of a cylindrical tube section T which has been flaredby the mechanism of the present invention. Tube sections of this character have a Wide variety of uses. For example, the illustrated section T may constitute one section'of a surface pipe line for oil, gas or water, and will therefore have a comparatively large diameter but the size of apparatus may be varied for use in connection with tube sections of various diameters The dotted line disclosure of FIG. 6 illustrates the end of the tube section prior to any shaping operations thereon and thefull line disclosure shows the tube end after it has been operated upon by the present mechanism. As will be more fully described subsequently, the end of the section is flared outwardly as at" 12 and a portion of the metal of the-flared part is caused to flow by a cold flow displacement inwardly toward the body portion of the section so that the juncture between the flared portion 12 and the inner surface of'the body presents a relatively sharp edge 13 which lies precisely on the cylindrical extension of the inner bore 14 of the tube section. In other words, the present mechanism operates upon the tube section T to avoid the formation of the usual bend or fillet, inserted by dotted outline 1 5 in FIG. '6, that is ordinarily formed at the junction of the flared end and the inner surface of the tube when the flaring operation is performed by conventional equipment. By the present method, the amount of metal displaced from the flared portion to form the sharp edge portion '13 is not great and-the consequent reduction in the thickness of the metal at the flared portion is insufficient to, weaken the outwardly flared portion when the latter is connected to a coupler element. The metal displacement is brought about by the angular position of the roller elements of the apparatus together with the ion gitudinal-ly bowed configuration of the peripheryof the roller elements as distinguished from 'cylindrical and conical rollers having straight line bearing surfaces.

The purpose of forming the sharp edge 13 as just de-f scribed is to adapt the flared end of the tube section .to use in connection with tube coupling'devices of the type shown and described in myprior application, Serial No. 489,561, filed February'ZI, 1955, wherein a smooth continuous cylindrical bore for the flow of fluid through the coupled tube sections is afforded without circumferential projections, voids or obstructing seams.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 3, the'tube clamping anvil assembly 10 includes hinged send-cylindrical cap and base clamping sections orjaws 16 and 17, respec tively, operatively connected together by ahinge assernr;

bly 18. The base section 17 is formed with a supporting Standard 20 capable of being secured as by bolts 21 to a stationary support 22 which may, for example, be a truck platform, work bench or the like. The free ends of the sections 16 and 17 are capable of being clamped together in substantially abutting relationship by means of a clamping device including lug members 23 secured as by welding to the sections 16 and 17, respectively. Pivoted as at 24 to the lug member 23 is a tension link 25 capable of being swung into an open ended slot 26 of a bifurcated lug member 23. A clamping handle or lever 27 is pivoted as at 28 to the free end of the link 25 and is formed with a cam protuberance 30 adapted to forceably bear against a side of a lug member 23 when the handle 27 is swung'to the locking position shown in FIG. 3. The clamping sections 16 and 17, when closed upon each other "as illustrated in FIG. 3, are adapted to encompass the end of the tube section T which is to be flared.

The sections 16 and 17 of the anvil assembly are each formed with a relief area 31 (see also FIG. 2) at their front inner semi-circular edges, such relief areas, when the sections 16 and 17 of the anvil assembly are closed upon each other, presenting an annular band-like surface which is substantially circular in cross section and which constitutes a forming face against which the flared end 12 of the tube '1 is adapted to be rolled by the flaring tool instrumentalities associated with the assembly 11.

In order to control the degree of insertion of the end of the tube T axially into the anvil assembly 10, a retractable locating bar or finger 32 is pivotally supported on a stud 33 at the front side of the support 22 and is capable of being swung from the retracted position illustrated in FIG. 1 to the extended position shown in- FIG. 2, these positions also being shown in full and dotted lines respectively in FIG. 3. In its extended position the bar 32 is vertical and the forwardly facing edge 34 thereof constitutes a limit stop or locating surface against which the rim 35 of the unflared tube T is adapted to be positioned when mounting the tube within the anvil assembly 10. After the tube has been properly positioned and the anvil sections 16 and 17 brought together in clamping relationship around the tube, the locating bar 32 may be swung'to its retracted out-of-the-way position.

In order to hold the unflared tube T against axial shifting movement relative to the flaring assembly when pressure is applied lengthwise of the tube during the flaring operation, a central arbor and clutch assembly 40 comprising clutching jaw elements 41 for gripping the internal surface of the tube and an arbor sleeve 50 associated therewith are inserted in the bore of the tube. The clutching jaw elements 41, preferably three in number, are generally of sector shape as shown in FIG. 3. Each jaw element 41 is transversely slotted as at 42 and a tie rod 43 extends through each slot to connect a pair of opposed plates 44 and 45 which constitute a retainer for the clutchjaw elements 41 in their assembled relation.

The elements 41 are normally urged toward their innermost radial positions by means of a pair of garter springs 46 disposed in annular slots 47 provided on opposite sides of the various jaw elements 41. The outer curved or circumferential edge of each jaw element 41 is provided with a series of gripping teeth 48 adapted to engage the inner bore 14 of the tube T when the clamping head assembly is expanded as will be described presently.

The clutch jaws 21, the plates 44 and 45 and tie rods 43 are carried at the forward end of the guide sleeve or arbor 50 on which the flange means are revolvably supported. The arbor 50 has formed at its forward end a series of spline-like ribs 51 each of which extends into a radial slot 52 (FIG. 3) provided in one of the clamping members or jaws 41. The ribs 51 are provided with inclined cam surfaces 53 designed forcamming engagement with complementary cam surfaces 54 which consti tote the bottoms of the various slots 52.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a thrust plate 55 is secured by studs 56 to the outside face of the forward end plate 45 of the case assembly and is designed to receive the end thrust of a thrust rod 57 having an operating head 59 thereon and which is axi-ally slidable in the bore 58 of thearbor 50. The plate 55, in effect, constitutes a reaction member against which the forward end of the rod 57 is adapted to hear when the rod is moved inwardly while the rollers 60 are pressed against the end of the tube to be flanged, whereby opposed forces may be applied to the cage assembly 43, 45 and arbor 50 to initially expand the clamping jaws 41 outwardly against the bore of the tube T under the influence of the cam,- ming action between the surfaces 53 and 54, all in a manner that will be made clear subsequently.

The actual flaring operation on the end of the tube T is performed by a series of flaring rollers 60 which are rotatably carried in a roller-cage assembly 61 of ring like design with the individual rollers 60 being equally spaced around the cage. The cage 61 is so designed as to maintain the rollers so that they are rotatable about respective axes which are inclined with respect to the central axis of the cage and with all of the axes extending along the slant height of a common cone. The various rollers 60 are generally of barrel shape design which is to say that their outer surfaces are bowed lengthwise to provide a radius of curvature similar to the transversely concaved band-like forming face 31 provided on the hinged clamp elements 16 and 1'7 of the anvil assembly 10. It may be said that the surfaces of the rollers 60 are substantially complementary to the concave surface of the flange 12 (FIGS. 1 and 6) so that when the roller and cage assembly is brought into the position shown in FIG. 1 the ends of the tube T may be shaped to the desired configuration with the various rollers 60 tractionally engaging the end of the tube T and spinning the same against the transversely concaved band-like forming face 31.

' The roller and cage assembly includes a central body 62 having a central bore 63 extending therethrough and by means of which the roller and cage assembly is revolvably slidably supported on the arbor 50. The said body 62 is provided with an inclined generally concaveconical race 64 in the form of an annular recess provided therein and the bottom of which is of arcuate configuration conforming to the arcuate longitudinal surface of the individual rollers 60. A retaining ring 65 is secured by means of screws 66 to the front face 67 of the body 62 and has a projecting rim 68 of greater radial extent than the inner radial extent of the rollers 60 so that when the'rollers are in position on the race 64 the rollers are loosely held in position against axial removal from the body 62 while at the same time allowing freedom of circumferential movement of the roller and cage assembly as a whole. The said rollers are positioned in slots 61a formed in a ring element 61b of the cage assembly. The ring element 61b has a truncated cone configuration and is mounted to rotate about the perimeter of the retaining ring 65. The end walls of the slots 61a are parallel to the end faces of the rollers so as to maintain the rollers in proper axial position and the said side walls 610 of the said slots converge so that the widthof the opening 61d in the outer periphery of the ring 61b is less than the maximum diameter of the rollers 60 and thereby provide roller pockets which prevent removal of the rollers when the ring 61a is in its assembled position. The rear side of the body 62 is recessed as at 70 and an enlarged head 72 provided on an operating sleeve 73 extends into the recess 70 and is secured therein by means of studs 74. The operating sleeve 73 is provided with a central bore 75 which is slidable on the arbor 50 so that the operating sleeve 73 and body 62 aflixed thereto may be moved longitudinally along the arbor 50 to bring the rollers 60 into operating engagement with the end of the tube T which is to be flared.

and threadedly'receives thereon an inner ring 77 forming a part of a clamping collar assembly which also includes .an outer ring 78 having a knurled surface'79. 'A pair of anchoring screws 80 (FIG. 5) serve to: secure the two parts 77 and 78 together. The inner part 77 is formed with apair of longitudinally extending guideways 81 at diametrically opposed regions each of which has slidable therein a torque transmitting bar 82 having a manipulating head 83 thereon. The guideways and bars are square in cross section and each bar'carries apin 84 which extends into 'a'slot 85 formed at the bottom of the guideway 81 to limit the extent of sliding movement of the torque transmitting bar. The ends of the bars 82 are capable "of being moved from retracted positions within the collar assembly to advanced positions wherein they are selectively receivable in a number of trough-like recesses 86 which extend longitudinally around the outer surface of the operating sleeve 73 in spaced relation and which recesses render the sleeve 73, in effect, a spanner device capable of being progressively rotated by means of an'operating pawl assembly designated in its entirety at 87.

The pawl assembly 87 includes a tubular body member 90 in the form of a sleeve (FIGS. 1 and 4) which surrounds the operating sleeve 73 and which is formed with a radially extending enlargement 91. The enlargement 91 is formed with a'radial bore 92 having an internal flange 93 through which there extends a pawl element 94 having a toothed head 95 designed for cooperation with the recesses 86 provided in the sleeve 73. A spring 96 surrounds the pawl element 94 'andbears at one end against the flange 93 and at the other end against the enlarged head 95 and serves to normally maintain the pawl in ,oper'ative'engagement with the spanner portion of the sleeve 73. A'manually operablelifting knob 97 is telesc'oped over'the outer end of the pawl 94 and is secured thereto by a pin 98the ends of which project outwardly in opposite directions and are removably retained within a slot 99 provided in the enlargement 91 to thus prevent the pawl from turning about its axis and maintain proper alignment between the head portion 95 thereof and the various cooperating recesses 86. An elongated operating torque handle 100 is threadedly received in a socket 101 formed in the enlargement 91 and by means of which the pawl assembly 87 may be manipulated to advance the collar assembly 77, 78, along the sleeve 50 as will be set forth presently.

In the operation of the apparatus the anvil assembly 10 may be set up at the scene of operations on a suitable 1 stationary support or platform 22 and the two clamping sections 1 6 and 17 closed loosely upon each other as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3 so that the circular opening therebetween is slightly larger than the cross sectional size of the tube sections to be received therein. The locating bar 32 is then swung from its horizontal position to its vertical position as illustrated in FIG. 3 and the tube end is passed through the opening between the two sections 16 and 17 until the rim or end thereof abuts against the bar. Thereafter the handle 27 is swung from its dotted line position as shown in FIG. 3 to its full line position so that the clamping arms 16 and 17 firmly grip the end of the tube, after which the locating bar 32 is restored to its horizontal position. The combined tube flaring and gripping assembly 11, which is an independent assembly from the anvil assembly 10, is then aligned with the tube end and the forward end of this former assembly is inserted into the tube end and moved therein to a position within the anvil assembly so that the clamping jaw elements 41 exist in telescoping relationship within the clamping sections 16 and 17. The operating head 59 on the thrust rod 57 is then manually pushed forwardly until he end of the rod engages the thrust plate 55 (FIG. 1) and the arbor is pulled rearwardly so as to bring the opposed cam surfaces 53 and 54 on the ribs 51 and on the bottom of the slots 52 provided in the jaw elements 41 into initial caniming engagement. The clamping collar assembly 77, 78 with'the torque bar 82 retracted therein may then be rapidly spun bythe operator until ityclosely approachesor engages the end of the operating sleeve .73, after which the bars 82 may be shifted to their forward positions so that the projecting ends thereof enter the diametrically opposed slots 86. The clamping collar assembly and operating sleeve may then manually be rotated as a unit to thread the same further onto the threaded portion 76 of the arbor 50 until such time as the various flaring rollers 60 carried in the cage 61 engage the forward rim of the unflared tube section T.

The pawl element 94 which at'this time, remains in I its elevated retracted position by virtue of the pins 98 resting on the edges of the slot 99 is then moved to its advanced position by manipulation of the operating knob 97 which is turned through an angle of 10 cause the pin 98 to become alignedwith the slot 99 and thereafter the operating lever or torque handle is inserted within the socket 101 provided in the enlargement 91 and the spanner mechanism may then be operated in the usual manner of operation of such devices to progressively, upon oscillation of the lever 100, rotate the operating sleeve 73. Such rotation ofthe sleeve 73 is transmitted through the torque pins or rods 82 to the clamping assembly 7-7, 78 and the latter is forceably threaded onto the arbor 50 so as to advance the operating sleeve 73 toward the anvil assembly 10. During such rotation and forward thrust of the operating sleeve 73 the body 62 and rollers 60 are likewise forced along the arbor 50 and a tractional rolling operation is effected by the various flaring rollers 60 exerting thrusts lengthwise and radially of the tube so that the end region ofthe tube T is forceably flared outwardly. This rolling action continues until such time as the end of the tube is forced against the generally frusto-conical curved forming faces 31 provided in the anvil sections 16 and 17 and thereafter continued operation of the spanner device will exert an extremely high compressional force on the flared end of the tube.

It is to be observed at this point that the direction of application of compressional force by the various rollers 60 because of their inclined axes and barrel-shape configuration includes a component of longitudinal thrust as well as a component of radial thrust and the vectorial 7 preciable structural weakening of the flared tube endis obtained and the production of the sharp edge 13 makes possible the use of the tube with a coupling device such as has been illustrated in my copending application above referred to wherein the conduit as a whole including its connection with a coupler body is free from internal obstruction due to circumferential scams or the like.

After the tube end has been flared in the manner indicated above, the pawl 94 may be withdrawn from its projected position, the operating handle 100 removed from its socket 101, and the clamping assembly 77, 78 together with the operating sleeve 73 spun in a reverse direction to withdraw the rollers 60 from the flared end of the tube T. Thereafter the arbor 50 may be moved inwardly to release the clamping pressure exerted by the cams 51 against the jaws 41 and, finally, the handle 27 may be manipulated to open the clamping sections 16 tube to provide an outwardly flared flange thereon comprising, in combination, clamping means for embracing and gripping the tube at a location spaced from an end thereof and constituting an anvilassembly having a forming face thereon against-which the flange ispressed, means forflaring the end ofthe tube into conformation with the contour of said forming face comprising a central arbor and clutch assembly for removably gripping the inner surface of the tube at a location within said anvil assembly to support the arbor in axial alignment with the tube, a roller and cage assembly including a body portion rotatably and slidably journalled on said arbor and provided on its forward face with a race having a frusto-conical concave bearing surface, a plurality of forming rollers arranged for tractionalrolling engagement on. the race with their rotating axis inclined relative to the axis of'the tube, means including a truncated cone ring for retaining said rollers in loosely attached relation to said body for tractional rolling engagement with the inner face of the tube to flare the end portion thereof outwardly, the engagement of said rollers with said body serving to hold said cone ring in its operated position, and means for revolving said roller and cage assembly and for advancing it lengthwise of the tube.

2. Apparatus for flaring an end portion of a metallic tube to provide an outwardly flared flange thereon according to claim 1 characterized in that the rolls have a convexity extending lengthwise thereof corresponding to the concave bearing surface of said race.

3. Apparatus for flaring an end portion of a metallic tube to provide an outwardly flared flange thereon according to claim 2 characterized in that said forming rollers are rotatably mounted in spaced relation with their axes inclined in the general direction of inclination of said concave bearing surface whereby upon advancing movement of the rollers lengthwise of the tube both axial and radial components of deformation are applied to the end of the tube engaged and tending to force a portion of the metal of said end of the tube inwardly toward the cylindrical body of the tube and thereby create a relatively sharp internal line of juncture between the deformed end of the tube and the body portion thereof.

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